As part of Writer's Digest's commitment to presenting our subscribers with useful information on new products, services, and educational programs for aspiring and professional writers, we want to share the following paid message from one of our advertisers.

Attention fellow Writer's Digest subscribers ...

Turn the Writing Skills You Already Have
Into a Highly-Paid, Recession-Proof Profession
... Working Part-Time!

Dear Reader,

Hi, my name is Pat McCord. Like you and our fellow Writer's Digest readers, I love to write. You could even say it's who I am.

That's why I was determined to find a way to convert my passion into a career that didn't depend on acceptance letters. How I did that might surprise you, but read on and you'll see that you can do it, too. Quite easily, in fact ...

I've been writing all my life -- almost literally. By the age of twelve, I'd already completed several "novels." That is, I'd filled dozens of tablets with dialog and action that I hoped would be accepted at one of the big publishing houses.

That didn't happen, not yet at least, but I did get hooked on writing at a young age. Since then, I've honed my craft by working a lot of different jobs, almost always involving some kind of writing.

First, there was the job at the newspaper in Federal Way, Washington. Then the job in the writing department at The Boeing Company (there were some 180 of us producing internal news, science materials, public relations, you name it), followed by contracts for Microsoft (I was the one who wrote the jokes for the Magic School Bus CD-ROM computer games).

Writing, always writing ...

In between, I put out six novels for young people with the likes of Simon & Schuster, Avon, and Bloomsbury USA. Not bad, but I wasn't living the life I'd dreamed of all those years ago. It was a painful paradox: either I had time to write my fiction but couldn't generate the income I needed, or I made a decent income but had no time for my fiction.

Maybe you recognize yourself here. After all, if you are a subscriber to Writer's Digest, you've probably been bitten by the writing bug much like I was. Maybe you write a little every day or on the weekends, whenever you aren't working your day job. Maybe you've even been lucky and made good money from time-to-time with your writing.

What you may not know is that it doesn't have to be this way -- with your writing taking back seat to everything else in your life.

Let me explain ... I'd received an envelope in the mail from American Writers And Artists Inc. (AWAI). What got my attention was the question, "Can you write a simple letter like this one?"

Are you kidding? Of course, I could! This was right up my alley.

The home study program promised that anyone could learn to write advertising copy, even if they had never done anything like it before. And, I have to say, I do know some copywriters who have done very well with no prior experience.

But ... and this is a big one ... those who have a writing background and love expressing thoughts on paper (or a computer screen) tend to master the craft of copywriting quickly. They go to the head of the class in a hurry.

I went through the basic program, Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting, in a few months. Honestly, I could have finished it in a week or two if I'd been less skeptical about my chances for success.

What I found, though, was that the program binder laid it out so clearly that I soaked up the secrets of copywriting without even realizing I was learning. Coupled with plenty of examples, the methodical learning system made it incredibly simple.

The downside, if there is one, is that after you finish the program, you actually have to do something with it other than put it on your shelf and forget about it. You have to write ... but you want to do that anyway.

You'll find that the need for copywriting is huge -- so huge that many writers get their first clients right away -- AWAI helps with that, too, in the form of spec assignments and Job Fairs.

But I went a different route. In fact, what I did next was so ridiculously easy everyone could try it. I met a man in my own city of Tucson who desperately needed an advertising campaign for his non-profit agency. He had no money to pay me, but I made a deal with him that I would do the promo at no cost if he'd let me learn with him. He jumped at the chance and so did I.

That promo became my first portfolio piece, and the rest, as they say, is history.

From there, I began booking assignments (they always came to me), where I learned on-the-job how to apply the lessons from the Six-Figure program to real-life marketing situations. I was amazed. This copywriting thing really was working!

I have now written promotions for International Living Magazine, Copy Protégé, Online Mentoring Program, The Pro Resume Writer Program, AWAI Bootcamp, and many others. Last year, I even wrote an eBook for copywriting guru Bob Bly.

The fact that I was not intimidated by a blank page allowed me to write faster than some of the other writers. I already knew how to face writing demons such as writer's block, revisionitis, deadlines, ego, and critiques.

But more important, I knew how to choose words for clarity and power. I didn't have to learn that skill from scratch.

You could say I had a critical leg up. All those days of writing for newspapers, kids' books, and corporate communications paid off. It's not that I couldn't have become a professional copywriter otherwise -- but it's been easier for me, and I can't discount that.

And the pay? I now base my fee schedule on $100 to $150 per hour, although because I'm fast (and you will be, too), I can often make more than that.

Here's how my life goes now: early in the morning, I pad into my office for time with my novel -- I'm on Chapter 23 of a 25-Chapter sci-fi book for teens. Afternoons I devote to copywriting.

Last year, my husband and I traveled to England where I was able to do final revisions on the road. Right now, I'm writing from Seattle, though I live in Tucson. These days, my office is wherever I happen to be.

No more cubicles, no more commutes, no more working only weekends on my novels ... and no more working for far less than I need.

I've paid my dues ... and so have you. We are writers. We have a strong grasp of communication concepts and know how to say what we mean. That fact alone gives us an advantage in the market place of copywriting.

You may have the same a-ha experience I did. This is the answer, fellow writers. A way to cash in on your compulsion to write.

But here's the best part: the price for the program is so unbelievably low that you can't afford to pass it up -- just $199, if you order before September 10. I paid more than twice this special offer, and it's been worth every penny.

Look into it like I did. You'll see what I mean. Copywriting is the perfect antidote to the starving-artist syndrome. Learn the craft and then work at it as much or as little as you want ... wherever you want.

Earn a high rate of pay no matter what the economy does ... and never worry about being laid off ... or about having to work so much to earn money that your novel languishes in a drawer.

NOTE: Before a company advertises with us, we make every attempt to verify that it is solvent and that it is in a position to deliver the services it promises. Our editorial coverage often addresses outright scams and red flags that writers should look out for before agreeing to pay for any editorial service or writing product, and there are several online resources to research known or suspected scams. We also encourage our readers to regularly visit our online forums to ask questions of their peers and/or to keep each other informed of their experiences, positive and negative, with the variety of products and services available for writers.